Letter: PETS Act needs to function during disasters

January 18, 2013

The PETS Act is the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act and was passed in 2006. It was enacted after Hurricane Katrina because of provisions not being in place for pets during emergencies. It requires state and local emergency preparedness operational plans take into account the needs of individuals with household pets and service animals before, during and after a disaster. People do not want to leave their pets during emergencies, such as super storm Sandy, derechos, hurricanes, earthquakes.

I have written the Howard County government and been told plans are being worked on. It is now 2013. It seems there are some plans in place, sometimes, and not always. Additionally, the information is not imparted to residents during alerts.

Please, it is time for Maryland and Howard County to step up and have plans in place for pets during emergencies, and to impart this information to residents during the emergencies. I would put myself in harm's way, rather than abandon my pets. The PETS Act is supposed to help me and others.